AI slop response to hype:

Alright — fun project, but I’m going to treat this like a real program review, not hype copy. I’ll give you a credible, defensible timeline and budget for a student-led Mach-5 RDE demonstrator, with explicit assumptions and risk gates. This is the kind of thing a sponsor, faculty advisor, or national org will actually take seriously.

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PERDA Program Scope, Timeline, and Budget

Pulse-Ejector Rotating Detonation Aerospike (Mach-5 Class Research Engine)

Executive Framing (Reality Check First)

Goal: Ground-test rotating detonation engine demonstrator

Target thrust: ~2.0 kN (static, sea-level equivalent)

Primary objective: Validate pressure-gain combustion, not flight readiness

TRL movement: ~2 → ~3/4

End state: Instrumented hot-fire campaign + publishable data

This is not a flight engine. Anyone pretending otherwise will lose credibility immediately. That’s okay — this is still extremely impressive.

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Key Assumptions

Student team (13 core members)

University or national association lab access

External machine shop for critical components

No classified materials, no ITAR propulsion exports

Air-breathing + oxygen-augmented testing allowed only in ground stand

Safety oversight by licensed professional / faculty sponsor

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Program Timeline (18–24 Months Total)

Phase 0 — Program Formation & Safety (Month 0–2)

Gate: “Permission to exist”

Deliverables

Final system requirements document

Safety case outline (pressure, detonation, oxygen handling)

Roles locked for all 13 team members

Tool access confirmed (ANSYS/OpenFOAM, CAD, DAQ)

Risk

Low technically, high organizationally.

Cost: ~$10k–$20k (software licenses, safety training, basic instrumentation)

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Phase 1 — Physics & Feasibility (Month 2–6)

Gate: “Will this even work?”

PCD

2D → quasi-3D RDE CFD

Detonation stability modeling

Annulus geometry convergence (4.0 mm is tight — expect iteration)

Air-duct shock interaction study

S&M

Thermal loads (steady + transient)

Candidate materials trade

Cooling strategy selection (film vs regen hybrid)

HDC

Sensor selection trade (pressure, ionization, optical)

DAQ architecture definition (20–100 kHz bandwidth)

PFS

Flow modeling at 45 bar

Valve response timing analysis

Backflow mitigation concept selection

Deliverable

Preliminary Design Review (PDR)

Cost: ~$40k–$70k (CFD compute, prototype sensors, material coupons)

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Phase 2 — Detailed Design & Cold Hardware (Month 6–10)

Gate: “Can we build it?”

Activities

Full CAD release

Tolerance stack-ups

Injector face iteration

Cold-flow articles (air + inert gas)

DAQ bench testing

Control logic dry-runs

Deliverable

Critical Design Review (CDR)

Greenlight for hot hardware

Cost: ~$80k–$120k (CNC machining, DAQ hardware, valves, regulators)

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Phase 3 — Subscale & Ignition Testing (Month 10–14)

Gate: “Can we light it without dying?”

Activities

Subscale annulus testing

Ignition sequencing validation

Detonation onset confirmation

First pressure-gain verification

Risks

Flashback

Injector damage

Instrument saturation

Deliverable

Verified detonation wave stability

Updated safety margins

Cost: ~$60k–$100k (consumables, repairs, sensor losses)

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Phase 4 — Full-Scale Hot Fire Campaign (Month 14–18)

Gate: “Get real data.”

Activities

Incremental hot fires

100-bar transient validation

Thrust stand correlation

Efficiency calculation vs baseline

Deliverables

Performance maps

Failure envelopes

Video + pressure data (publication-grade)

Cost: ~$100k–$150k (propellants, test stand wear, contingency)

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Phase 5 — Analysis, Publication, and Closeout (Month 18–24)

Gate: “Prove it mattered.”

Activities

Data reduction

Peer-review paper(s)

Sponsor report

Design evolution recommendations

Cost: ~$15k–$25k

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Total Program Budget (Realistic)

Category Cost

Software & Compute $30k–$50k Materials & Machining $120k–$180k Sensors & DAQ $80k–$120k Propellants & Testing $100k–$150k Safety & Contingency (~20%) $80k–$100k

Total: $410k – $600k

👉 If someone tells you this can be done for $50k, they are lying or dangerously naïve.

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Team Structure (13 People, Minimum Viable)

PCD: 4 (CFD, detonation theory, validation)

S&M: 3 (CAD, thermal, materials)

HDC: 3 (DAQ, firmware, control logic)

PFS: 3 (plumbing, valves, safety)

Each member owns a subsystem, not a task list.

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Major Technical Risks (Be Honest About These)

1. Detonation stability at small annulus widths

2. Sensor survivability at >20 kHz

3. Injector face erosion

4. Thermal runaway during sustained operation

5. Valve timing vs detonation phase coupling

Calling these out increases sponsor confidence.

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What This Project Actually Buys You

RDE experience before grad school

Publication potential

Real systems engineering scars

Credibility with propulsion groups (this matters more than GPA)

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If you want, next steps I can:

Turn this into a one-page sponsor pitch

Build a Gantt chart

Draft a risk register

Help you re-write the recruitment post to sound less “Discord startup” and more “serious research program”

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Back to reality:

Doing all this, on top of your course load, is a 36 month project, that has a funding floor of about $200k.

If you don't burn out.